Naomi Appleton

Jataka stories (stories about the previous births of the Buddha) are very popular in Theravada Buddhist countries, where they are found in both canonical texts and later compositions and collections, and are commonly used in sermons, children's books, plays, poetry, temple illustrations, rituals and festivals. Whilst at first glance many of the stories look like common fables or folktales, Buddhist tradition tells us that the stories illustrate the gradual path to perfection exemplified by the Buddha in his previous births, when he was a bodhisatta (buddha-to-be). Jataka stories have had a long and colourful history, closely intertwined with the development of doctrines about the Buddha, the path to buddhahood, and how Buddhists should behave now the Buddha is no more. This book explores the shifting role of the stories in Buddhist doctrine, practice, and creative expression, finally placing this integral Buddhist genre back in the centre of scholarly understandings of the religion.

Narrating the Bodhisatta Path

Jataka Stories in Theravada Buddhism

Jakata stories (stories about the previous births of the Buddha) are very popular in Theravada Buddhist countries. This book explores the shifting role of the stories in Buddhist doctrine, practice and creative expression, finally placing this integral Buddhist genre back in the centre of scholarly understandings of the religion.

narrating the Bodhisatta path

Jātaka stories in Theravāda Buddhism

Peter Skilling

Shaw, Sarah (Scholar of Buddhism)

the Mahānipāta of the Jātakatthavaṇṇanā

The ten great birth stories of the Buddha

This book explores how multi-life stories served to construct, communicate, and challenge ideas about karma and rebirth within early South Asia.

Naomi Appleton

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